With every New Year comes the opportunity to reflect on what we accomplished the previous year, and make plans for the upcoming twelve months. From a digital marketing standpoint, Google made some big changes in 2015. Prepare your marketing plan to make big leaps in 2016.
What did Google Change in 2015?
- “Mobilegeddon”
- Panda update
- Penguin update
- RankBrain
- Google and social media
Mobilegeddon
What is Mobilegeddon? Last year, Google decided to rank websites on mobile usability. Google focuses on user experience because an increasing number of searches are completed on mobile devices compared to desktops. If your site was not mobile friendly, it got dinged.
What does this mean for 2016? With the combination of higher search volume on mobile devices and your site being ranked for mobile usability, you need to make your mobile site a priority. If you are not constantly writing and designing with a mobile format in mind, your site will suffer. I don’t want to sound like a doomsday prepper, but it’s true. Technology is your friend, and it can help you grow your brand.
Panda Update
What is the Panda update? When you think of panda, you might think of a furry black and white creature that practices kung fu. In Google terms, Panda is the ranking algorithmsFormulas or computational procedures used to solve complex computer problems. that will rank your site on quality, reference queries and search queries. The 2015 update focused specifically on content. If your site had thin or duplicated content, the site took a harder hit.
What does this mean for 2016? It’s always good practice to have quality content on your site. Google likes to have relevant, thoughtful content that will engage the reader. Because of this determination to make the best content easily available, the Panda update was not just a onetime thing. We can expect 2016 to have more Panda.
Penguin Update
What is the Pengin Update? Google must have a thing for cute black and white animals. The Penguin update can be good or bad news for your website, depending on how well the site is maintained. The Penguin update is referred to Google’s real-time algorithm, and its primary focus is on links to and from your site and links within your site to other pages on the site. In theory, this update should allow you to you see movement in the rankings immediately if you have faced Penguin penalties instead of months.
What does this mean for 2016? The update hasn’t been released yet, at least not officially. If all goes according to plan, you can take advantage of this tool and fully optimize your site in 2016. Many people have feared this update, but it will actually help your site be healthier with up-to-speed results.
RankBrain Computer Learning
What is RankBrain?If you’ve ever worried that robots were going to take over the world, I’ve got bad news for you. RankBrain is Google’s name for a machine-learning artificial intelligence system that will process search results using an advanced understanding of language and semantics. This will be Google’s third most influential ranking factor because it will learn the flow of the web and process the data much faster than previous algorithms.
What does this mean for 2016? It may seem like a daunting task to rank on Google – especially when you have to beat a machine to do it. Like the other updates mentioned above, these tools are here to help you rank. If you have well-thought-out material that’s relevant and engaging for your users, you will be just fine.
Google and Social Media
What’s the Twitter agreement? Last year, Twitter and Google came to an agreement that a large number of Tweets will be indexed by Google and visible for organic searches, and we saw changes in the way posts from other social media platforms are displayed.
What does this mean for 2016? It is expected this year that more social media posts will be indexed and the battlefield will be broadened. This means your social media game will have to be on point to compete.
Don’t Let 2016 Go to Waste
At Online Image®, we understand that your business is very important to you. Our expert analysts and writers keep a close eye on these updates and make necessary changes on your site day in and day out, so don’t feel anxious. We’ll continue improving your visibility online so you can get back to making your dream a reality. If you have questions, browse through our blogThis term originated as shortened version of “web log” and has come to be known as a regularly updated web-page, often containing news, opinion and personal stories., visit our glossary or work with your dedicated account manager directly.